


Imagine Dragons

by BubuBORG



Series: Team Medi: Discord Prompts [3]
Category: Star Trek, TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 14:48:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15608643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubuBORG/pseuds/BubuBORG
Summary: Mavis Feldman (from "Healing Hands"), shortly after her husband passes away, takes a trip to Berengaria VII to feed creatures referred to as Dragons.But she knows better.





	Imagine Dragons

**Author's Note:**

> From the Tolkien Discord Prompt.
> 
> This takes place roughly Earth Year 2269 (Star Trek TOS S3), fifteen years before Mavis meets Fili.

Martin had chosen the destination.

 

Berengaria VII.

 

Mavis Feldman smiled as she sat, alone, on the transport ship.The planet was fully into view as they entered standard orbit.The cloud cover over the main continent obscured most of the features but the ocean was a clear cerulean blue. 

 

“Thank you for choosing Berengaria Transports!” The hostess cheerfully announced over the comm.“We are now transporting section 1 to the surface.Section 2 to transporter area.Please gather your carry-on belongings…”

Mavis quietly picked up her knitting and placed it in her bag.She got in line to the transporter room.

“I can’t wait to visit Pern!” one of the passengers said to her friend.

“They say they’re so gentle, they’ll eat right out of your hand,” she replied.“They’ll eat branches of trees, leaves and all.They’re beautiful.”

Mavis chuckled to herself as she stood on the transporter pad.The young ladies were excited about their trip, but they were wrong.

The creatures they’d be feeding.They could call them whatever they wanted, but they weren’t truly _dragons_.

Her father told her so. 

 

Chances were, the destination was a final joke from Martin.He always was fascinated by the stories she’d passed on from her father.Even Azanulbizar. 

Getting on without him made her miss them both.

 

The reception center planetside seemed crowded, but surged forward quickly.Mavis had her luggage forwarded to the hotel room, which allowed her to grab something to eat before she worked off the eventual star lag. 

She settled on a small cafe and ordered a panini and a vanilla latte.She took note of the sweetness in the air, and the tinge of green in the blue sky.

 

“Lovely planet, isn’t it?”

 

The gentleman, friendly as ever, sat down opposite her at her outdoor table.His beard seemed longer than last time, but his eyebrows were as mountainous as ever.

 

“Mister Grey!” Mavis exclaimed.“You came after all!”

 

“I was rather concerned to hear of your loss,” Grey told her.“You have my condolences.”

She wiped her mouth with her napkin and nodded.“Thank you.”

“The Berengarian so-called ‘dragons’ are quite the draw for animal lovers,” Grey noted. “I’m at a loss as to why you wanted to visit, however.”

“My late husband Martin planned this trip as a surprise,” Mavis explained.“He was fascinated by the stories my father told me as a child.He probably thought I’d laugh.”

“Is that why you came?” Grey asked.

“I loved my husband,” Mavis said with a shrug.“And this was his final gift to me.”

“Fair enough,” Grey said.“If you like, we can visit the creatures in Pern.I hear they’ll eat right out of your hand.”

“I’d like that,” Mavis agreed.“But I think I’m going to sleep off the trip for now.”

“Madam,” Grey bowed to her as he took his leave. 

 

Mavis snoozed through most of the night in her modest hotel room.Her dreams were recursive, with her walking through hallways with endless doors but no way out. 

When she woke, the Berengarian sun hadn’t risen yet.She slipped her robe on and looked outside.Beyond the city, a striking mountain range was slowly being painted in reds and pinks.

Gods, Martin would have loved this view.

 

 _Well_ , she thought. _Guess I’ll have a gander at those fake dragons._

 

Pern was located about a mile out from the center of town.It looked for all the world like a petting zoo. 

 

When Mavis looked at them, she couldn’t help but laugh.

 

The herd of reptiles were munching obliviously on vegetation and fruits provided by their handlers. They stood roughly eight feet tall, with front legs which dangled as they stood on their hind legs to grab leaves from their mouths from nearby trees.If it wasn’t for the undersized wings, they would have looked for all the world like yellow, scaly kangaroos.

 

 _Still_ , she thought. _They were rather cute animals._ Their eyes were round, like geckos, and had a permanent, wide-eyed look of nervous surprise.

“Hell,” she sighed, and got in the line to feed them.

As she did, the person in front of her turned around to look down at her.Tall, lean, and groomed, the man looked distinguished, but not quite handsome.

“Oh,” he said with surprise.“Forgive me, but I didn’t expect to see a Daughter of Stone so far from home.”

Mavis was taken aback.No one had called her that since her father left.Certainly didn’t expect strange men to pay attention to her on this trip.“I’m sorry?” she replied. 

“No, no, It’s I who should apologize,” the man said, holding up his arms.“Name’s Cal.”

“Mavis Feldman,” she replied.“So why are you in line to feed rubbish dragons?”

“Ah, well,” he said.“They _are_ kind of cute.”

“Animal lover?” Mavis teased. 

“You could say,” Cal replied.“Though I usually prefer megafauna.”

“But what I don’t understand,” Mavis said, “Is that when they first found this planet, they said they found creatures that could actually fly and breathe fire.”

As she said that, one of the creatures lifted up its head and opened its mouth, releasing a short burst of flame.The crowd of visitors burst into brief cheers.

Cal gestured toward them and raised his eyebrows.“There you go.”

“No, no,” Mavis said, shaking her head.“They were reported and then they disappeared, but these guys were everywhere.Nice, benign, people-friendly dragons.”

“As opposed to?” Cal suggested.

Mavis folded her arms.“I know for a fact that creatures like what they originally reported on, existed on at least one other planet.”

Cal peered at her; his expression wasn’t exactly skepticism, but seemed amused at her sincerity.“Go on.”

“My father told me of a creature which invaded his home,” Mavis told Cal.“It invaded his mountain and took their riches for its own.It displaced an entire community for generations.”

Cal smiled.For a moment, Mavis didn’t know if she liked it, but his voice remained friendly.“A tale of a dragon which took a mountain kingdom for itself, eh?” Cal said.“Does this villain have a name?”

Mavis gave him a curious glance.“He did in fact.They called him Smaug.”

It didn’t occur to Mavis that she and Cal were no longer in line to feed the dragon-creatures, their conversation too absorbing.Not until Cal threw back his head and laughed.“Smaug!My goodness, that’s—“He stopped himself.“I’m sorry.It’s just…The name reminds me of someone who…I would have never thought would have the intestinal fortitude to invade a Dwarvish kingdom.”

“What?” Mavis was confused.“Have you been to Arda?”

“I…have a unique perspective on Numenorean history,” Cal replied, side-stepping.“But you’re right.These cute little fellas are nothing like true dragons.Like I said, I prefer megafauna, and those magnificent creatures from ages past were as mega as you can get.”

Mavis was interested now.“Like?”

“They say that, millennia ago, there were creatures on Arda that dwarf even those worms like your Smaug.Behemoths the size of starships and beyond.Capable of traversing great distances, even stars, because not even the will of any planet could hold them.They were limitless.”

“So…space dragons,” Mavis said, making a face.“You’re just making fun of me.”

“It’s believed that they were not true creatures of flesh,” Cal said.“That they were spirits of the like of the Ainur, who took on these great forms, and could will themselves from one end of the galaxy to the other.This was early days in the young galaxy, before those Great Barriers were put up to keep Him locked away.For what would a God need with a starship, when such beings were at his disposal?”

Mavis’s head began to swim.Cal placed a firm hand on her shoulder.“Rest assured, Mavis.Those days of destruction are long past.It’s a much more orderly galaxy now, and the days of dragons darkening the skies on any planet are gone.”

Mavis looked up at Cal.“Who _are_ you?”

“Oh, I’m just a guy who’s been enjoying his long retirement,” Cal pshawed.“But it was wonderful to discuss those long-gone days with you.Oh, one more thing….” Cal began to move to leave Pern.“Your father?”

“Yes?”

“Is he a Son of Durin?” Cal asked.

“He is,” Mavis affirmed.“Balin, son of Fundin.”

“Making you a proud Daughter,” Cal said.“Well.Enjoy your petting zoo.It was nice meeting you.”

“Likewise,” Mavis said. 

 

And like that, Cal was gone in the crowd. 

 

“Mavis!” a more familiar voice called from the feeding line.

It was Mister Grey.

“Did you see that gentleman?” Mavis asked. 

“Oh, I think so,” Grey replied, glaring into the crowd.“He must be getting restless in his old age.”

“Who was he?” Mavis asked.

“A relic,” Grey replied.“From another time.Mostly harmless now, but once he was something to be feared.”

“From a time of Dragons?” Mavis asked.

“That time was _his_ time,” Grey affirmed.“And never to return again.A spectator to history.”

 

Mavis looked back to where Cal had disappeared.Beyond, the mountain range once again was painted in color as the sun began to set.But as she looked, she thought—just for a moment—that a span of great dark leathery wings stretched out behind the peaks before disappearing. 

From an Age long past.

The Age of Dragons.


End file.
